On September 28 at 02:45 Beijing time (CEST), Germany will host Greece in the second match of the UEFA Nations League group stage. Ahead of the fixture, Germany defender Jonathan Tah attended a press conference. Below is the second part of his remarks.

Read more:

【Jonathan Tah: Does Klopp wave us forward to attack? That's not the tactical setup】

【Jonathan Tah: I'm 30 years old. What matters is giving our less-experienced teammates a sense of security】

Hello Jonathan, I imagine you were among the first to welcome Florian Wirtz when he joined. How pleased are you that your close friend was able to arrive a few days ahead of schedule? Also, in England, some media and the public have been quite critical of him at times. Over the past year, have you had to encourage or support him from time to time?

Yes, I'm very pleased to see him here and to have trained and played with him over these past few days. As for Florian, I've noticed the outside discussion about him. Honestly, I don't really understand that criticism. I know exactly how excellent a player he is, and I'm aware that he will certainly have to show more outstanding performances and even more impressive abilities in the future.

However, I think the nitpicking and the targeted fault-finding directed at him right now is quite excessive. I know his caliber, and sooner or later everyone will understand it. I think this is just one phase in a career, and people shouldn't over-interpret or exaggerate things. What matters is patience, continuous effort, full commitment, and always believing in yourself.

If you watch every one of Florian's matches carefully, which I do, I honestly cannot say he's played poorly in any single match. Sometimes he might just lack a crucial goal or a key pass, but those things will come eventually. When they do, public opinion will shift entirely. So he doesn't need to be bothered by this outside noise. He just needs to focus on being himself.

Best of luck in the upcoming match!

Thank you.

You'll face Panajotis Retsos, a former teammate from Bayer Leverkusen. Can you say a few words about meeting him again?

Yes, Panajotis is a good friend of mine. He's always told me to visit him in Greece, but I haven't made it there yet. So maybe there will be an opportunity in the future. But there's no doubt he's a great person and an excellent player. Seeing his progress—I think he's even the captain now—it's great to see him doing well and in good form. Yes, I'm looking forward to facing him.

Hello, to beat Greece, what areas do you think Germany needs to improve? Can you share your thoughts?

Okay, I think this will be a very different match from the one against the Netherlands. I expect Greece will play a fairly cautious defensive game and look for opportunities to counter-attack. But ultimately, they have very talented players competing at a high international level, so we must show full respect. We need to be careful and highly focused, and we are fully prepared for this.

I think what we can do better in this match is control the game for longer stretches throughout different phases; and yes, we need to be able to manage and stop their counter-attacks while fully capitalizing on the chances we create to score.

I actually had another question in mind, but I still want to ask about Florian Wirtz. You just mentioned that you watch all of his matches. Is that because of the old friendship from your time as former teammates and your special concern for him, or is it because of your broad interest in football, which makes you watch countless matches every weekend?

Haha, yes, my wife often complains that we watch too much football. But I do watch a lot of football matches. However, watching Florian's games comes from the deep friendship we share and because we not only worked well together on the pitch but also have a great relationship off it. Seeing someone you've built a deep emotional bond with play football is always enjoyable and interesting. So yes, that's the reason.

Media official: We just received the latest news: Munich has been officially confirmed as the host city for the Olympic Games! As a Bayern Munich player, would you like to say something about this?

Munich was chosen as the host city? That's fantastic. It's what I dreamed of, and I almost could have guessed it would be this way. No, I'm genuinely happy and delighted that such a major event will be held in Munich. This might give me the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of such a big event even more deeply. Yes, I think this is a very special occasion for Munich. Munich has hosted many great sporting events in the past and will certainly do so again in the future. So I'm incredibly excited and pleased. Congratulations to Munich.

There are certainly people here who believed Munich would get the hosting rights…

Wasn't it just announced that they've secured it?

Actually, we're still in the bidding process for the specific events…

Really? I heard they had already secured the hosting rights… Well, they'd better win the bid then, right? (Laughs)

Hello, I have a question. I'm not trying to compare different managers, but you have a club manager at Bayern and now you have Klopp with the national team. In this short time, have you noticed any differences? For example, the benefits of regularly playing for the national team and training with teammates from other clubs, or from your perspective, are there specific areas of growth you feel you can absorb? Or are there aspects that might be slightly harder to adjust to when you return to the club? Also, I have a question about the pitch, but maybe I'll ask that later…

Yes, fundamentally, as a professional footballer, being able to learn from multiple head coaches throughout one's career, especially those who are very successful or at the highest level of coaching, is an invaluable privilege. I personally attach great importance to this experience, and I don't think I'll encounter any difficulties switching between the two and returning to the club.

On the contrary, we have our own tactical approach with the national team, which we're implementing under the new coach; and at Bayern, we have Bayern's tactical system. I believe being able to blend and absorb both of these tactical influences is an honor and extraordinary privilege for me. This will only make me a better overall player, and I will undoubtedly learn a great deal from both of these outstanding coaches.

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